grated apple and yoghurt breakfast bowl

Here’s how Saturday mornings go in our home: Paul, who is one of those people who wakes up wide awake, wakes up much earlier than I’d like and starts talking to me. I try to ignore him for as long as possible, which is never very long, and grumble incoherently at him to try to get him to stop talking. It never works.

He gets up and puts on some Saturday morning music. Unlike the loud and energetic music he likes to play during the evenings (sorry neighbours!), the Saturday morning music is mellow, and played at the kind of volume I like. I stay in bed and read emails on my phone, having given up on sleep.

Paul makes himself a cup of coffee and begins his morning stretching routine. He’ll put the kettle on for me, and when it whistles I’ll get up and make myself a cup of tea. Usually he’ll head out for a run, and, after tackling the sediment-crusted wine glasses and other flotsam from the previous night, I’ll spend some blissful time alone in the kitchen.

This breakfast bowl hardly counts as a recipe, but I wanted to share it with you because I’m totally obsessed with it. Like, thinking about it in the evening, can’t wait for the next opportunity to throw it together kind of obsessed with it. It’s not exactly rocket science, but I had never thought of it until recently, during Hurricane Sandy, when someone in my twitter feed (can’t remember who, sorry!) tweeted about something along these lines as a favourite power-outage breakfast. It stuck in my mind, and I’ve been making it frequently ever since.

A whole apple gets grated up, peel and all. It gets mixed with an equal amount of plain low-fat yoghurt, then raw oats, chia seeds, and a teensy splash of maple syrup. If I’m feeling fancy sometimes I’ll use muesli instead of the oats. If I’m feeling stingy I’ll skip the maple syrup. Sometimes I add a bit of wheat germ. You get the deal, it’s pretty much a choose your own adventure situation.

Grate the apple, discarding only the core. Put it in a small bowl. Add yoghurt, oats, chia seeds, and maple syrup. Stir it up, and enjoy your breakfast.

An Apple a day keeps the doctor away! Apple is a good source of fiber, and vitamin C. The nutrients in apples are concentrated skin, so buy organic, give them a good wash, and keep the skin on whenever possible.

Chia seeds are a concentrated source of the omega-3 fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), are rich in dietary fiber. They are also an excellent source of essential minerals such as phosphorous, manganese, calcium, sodium and potassium.

Oats are rich in indigestible carbohydrates called beta-glutens which help to lower blood cholesterol levels. Oats are also host to a number of phenolic compounds which have antioxidant properties, are helpful in stabilizing blood sugar, and are a good source of dietary fiber and protein.

Yoghurt is a great source of calcium, vitamin B12, and protein, to name a few. The live bacterial culture is very beneficial for digestive health.

I need to eat more fruit and love the sound of grating apple into this wonderful mixture. And, I love raw oats far more than cooked as I prefer the texture. I know this would set me up for the day in such a good way!

I do something a bit similar but always with some kind of spice, like cardamom, vanilla powder or nutmeg, and no syrup as I find these spices are pretty good at making you think you’re eating something sweeter. Must put in some of my newly purchased chia seeds – good idea. And a touch of grade B maple would be a nice pick me up. So sweet that Paul puts the kettle on for you 🙂

[…] tiniest bit of toasted sesame oil right before eating. Yummers. Also, I recently rediscovered the grated apple and yoghurt breakfast bowl, an oldie but a goodie from The Muffin Myth archives. It’s great on those mornings I realize […]